Health
Resident Doctors Set to Begin Nationwide Indefinite Strike on April 7 Over Unmet Demands
The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has announced plans to commence a total and indefinite nationwide strike starting at midnight on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, citing the Federal Government’s failure to fully implement key agreements.
In a statement following an Extraordinary National Executive Council (e-NEC) meeting, NARD President Dr. Mohammed Suleiman said the strike, tagged: No Implementation, No Going Back,” is aimed at pressing the government to address several outstanding issues.
These include the reinstatement of five dismissed colleagues, payment of promotion and salary arrears across various health institutions, timely release of funds under the 2026 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), and clearance of long-overdue professional allowances.
The association is also protesting the alleged suspension or scrapping of the agreed Professional Allowance Table (PAT), describing the government’s action as unjustifiable and a threat to doctors’ welfare and the stability of the health sector.
Despite the Federal Government’s recent release of ₦21.3 billion (with additional tranches processed) to clear outstanding allowances of which about 60% of affected doctors have reportedly received alerts NARD maintains that critical demands remain unaddressed.
The group insists the strike will proceed unless there is full implementation of the agreements reached in previous negotiations.
“The responsibility to avert this lies with the Federal Government,” sources close to the association emphasised, warning that partial payments and unfulfilled promises have eroded trust.
Healthcare stakeholders have expressed concern over the potential impact of the strike. Resident doctors form a critical backbone of service delivery in teaching hospitals and federal medical centres across the country.
A shutdown is expected to disrupt emergency care, outpatient services, surgeries, and training programmes, putting additional strain on an already overstretched system and leaving many patients vulnerable.
The development comes amid recurring industrial disputes in Nigeria’s health sector, with NARD previously suspending strikes after signing memoranda of understanding with the government, only for fresh disagreements to arise over implementation.
As of now, neither the Federal Ministry of Health nor the Presidency has issued an official response to the latest announcement, though past statements have highlighted efforts to meet multiple demands and urged dialogue to prevent disruption of essential services.
Patients and the public have been advised to seek updates from their local hospitals and explore alternative care options where possible as the April 7 deadline approaches.
Health
Millions of bedbugs crawl out of mattresses and walls in huge outbreak
Bedbugs can enter homes on clothes, luggage, or second hand furniture – and “hide” in mattresses or walls, according to the NHS.
Millions of bedbugs were crawling out of mattresses in what a pest controller said was the worst outbreak he had seen in 38 years.
They were even in the walls and under the wallpaper, with the mattresses and bed frames needing to be incinerated.
Cardiff pest controller Gareth Davies had to wear full protection as his team tackled the problem in the Canton area of the city, using a specialist vacuum cleaner to collect millions of the bugs.
It came after they had tackled a large cockroach outbreak last month in a scene he likened to a horror movie.
“This house was just horrific,” he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.
“Hundreds of thousands of them when you lifted the mattresses up.
“They were coming out of the wallpaper, it was horrendous.”
Bedbugs can enter homes on clothes, luggage, or second hand furniture – and “hide” in mattresses or walls, according to the NHS.
Credit: BBC
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed that Lassa fever has claimed 259 lives and infected 1,086 people across 24 states and 118 local government areas so far in 2026.
In its latest Lassa Fever Situation Report for epidemiological week 36 (August 31 to September 6), the agency said the figures represent a case fatality rate of 23.9 percent — significantly higher than the 18.6 percent recorded during the same period in 2025.
Twelve new confirmed cases were recorded in week 36, a decline from the 18 cases reported the previous week. The fresh infections were detected in Ondo, Edo and Kogi states.
Five states continue to bear the heaviest burden, accounting for 87 percent of all confirmed cases this year: Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Benue and Edo. People aged 21 to 30 remain the most affected age group.
The NCDC noted that no new infections among healthcare workers were recorded during the latest reporting week. The agency continues to urge the public to maintain hygiene, avoid contact with rodents and their droppings, and seek early medical care if symptoms appear.
Health
Nigerian hospital successfully performs kidney cancer surgery via tele-robotic
The development could reduce the need for Nigerians to travel abroad for specialised medical treatment, thereby reducing expenditure on international travel, accommodation and medical services.
• A surgeon performing tele-robotic surgery.
Nisa Premier Hospital, Abuja, has partnered with RoboMed Global and The Redeemer’s Health Village (RHV) to successfully perform what the hospital described as the first tele-robotic surgery in Nigeria and West Africa.
The landmark kidney cancer surgery was performed on a patient at Nisa Premier Hospital, Abuja, while the surgeon, Professor Obi Ekwenna-Davis, remotely controlled the robotic surgical platform from Redeemer’s Health Village in Lagos.
The procedure, which lasted approximately three hours, was performed to remove a kidney affected by a cancerous tumour.
The hospital said the patient had been discharged following the successful procedure, although details about the patient’s identity and condition were withheld for privacy reasons.
Speaking during an event to mark the milestone, the Chief Executive Officer of Nisa Premier Hospital, Dr Ibrahim Wada, said the development demonstrated the potential of tele-robotic surgery to connect specialist surgical expertise with patients across Nigeria.
Wada said the procedure was carried out using the MicroPort robotic surgical platform installed at Nisa Premier Hospital, with the remote surgeon controlling the system from Lagos.
He said the development could reduce the need for Nigerians to travel abroad for specialised medical treatment, thereby reducing expenditure on international travel, accommodation and medical services.
According to him, the technology also creates an opportunity for Nigerians to access specialised expertise from doctors located in other parts of the world without requiring the doctors to travel physically to Nigeria.
Source: Daily Trust
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